It’s common to think of your Technical Demo as the one type of demo you deliver to customers, just with tweaks and nuance based on the stage and the audience. In reality, there are six different types of demos that correspond with the unique buyer needs as they progress through their buying process.
Buyers may not consistently require each demo. When there are 6 or more stakeholders involved in a deal, for example, they’ll need at least four demos, and often six or more, to make a decision.
Defining the six demos properly, including where they’re most relevant in the buying journey, will make it easier for you to enable them to make decisions faster.
The six demo types are Vision Demos, Micro Demos, Qualifying and Discovery (or “Standard”) Demos, Technical Demos, Closing Demos, and FAQ Demos.
Vision Demo
At the beginning of the buying process, the Vision Demo is a presentation often delivered by Sales, not SEs, that focuses on the value proposition: the problem, the solution, and the benefit.
Vision Demos should be five to seven minutes long. They are light on the product. These demos are often built by Marketing.
Micro Demo
Also used at the beginning of the buying process, this is a short demo delivered by SEs that focuses on the product but is very brief and introductory.
Micro Demos are typically five to seven minutes in length. They are generic but are product-oriented. Micro Demos are used to review PSB. They are built by SEs. At this point in the buying process, you are addressing the need of the prospect.
Qualifying and Discovery (or “Standard”) Demo
SEs usually deliver this demo at the request of a prospect wanting to “learn more.” The problem here is that, as with Micro Demos, the prospects are often still highly unqualified so efforts often result in a “wasted” demo.
Qualifying and Discovery Demos should be 12 to 25 minutes long. These demos go deeper into the details of the product and are built by SEs, but they still cover generic content. For the prospect, this is the stage where they are learning and researching.
Technical Demo
Technical Demos are where SEs shine. We want them to spend the most time here. This is the highly customized, deep-dive demo where SEs can leverage their expertise.
Technical Demos should be the longest demos, lasting 45 to 60 minutes (or longer, if needed). These demos should be custom and deep on the product. This is where prospects’ fears should be addressed.
Closing Demo
Closing Demos are often responses to questions at the end of the buying process after the buyer has already decided to purchase but is attempting to de-risk the decision. Do you have an integration with this or that system? How do you handle GDPR? Tell me more about the migration of my data to your system?
Closing Demos will only be one to five minutes long, and they will be very product-oriented. They are built by SEs. Closing Demos are where you will get a commitment from the prospect to buy the product.
FAQ Demo
FAQ Demos are those demos delivered in response to the sales rep asking, “Can you hop on a quick call to help explain X, Y, or Z?” They often follow after another demo type and can happen anywhere in the buying process. FAQ Demos are typically one to five minutes in length.
By spelling out the different types of demos, you can start to see where you can best utilize the talents of your team, and where their focus needs to be. In future blog posts, we will dive more into which demos can be eliminated, which demos can be automated, which demos can be delegated, and ways to measure the progress of your scaling efforts. By following our steps to elimination, automation, and delegation, you will be able to help your team reach maximum productivity.
If your sales engineering team needs help in optimizing their time, reach out to us at Consensus. We specialize in sales force automation solutions, freeing your team up to do what they do best and give their full focus to the customer.
